Thursday, 11 May 2017

Who's in the Interview Chair?

Today the Lovely Katherine Kullmann, author of Georgian/Regency novels, has stepped to the chair!

(1) What actually inspired the writing of your novel(s)?

Ans:There was no one thing. I have always loved writing, and
it has been an important part of my work, but it was only when I took early
retirement that I had the time and space to consider writing creatively. I’ve
been fascinated by the regency period since I first read Georgette Heyer and
Jane Austen and it seemed natural to set my books there. As to what triggers a
story—it can be something quite small, for example, take thisslight exchange
between two women at a masquerade inPerception
& Illusion:

“The carriage is outside if you still wish to leave. It has just struck
midnight,” Thalia whispered.

“I do. And you?”

“I’ll stay awhile.”

I couldn’t stop wondering what happened when Thalia returned
to the ballroom and the result was The
Murmur of Mask. In the end, it
was published first. I was so immersed in it by the time Perception & Illusion was returned from my editor that I
decided to complete it before returning to P&I.

(2) Alpha or beta
hero –profession/title/rank?– brief description!

Ans:I don’t think of my heroes in terms of alpha or beta but
I would say they are a mixture of both. Luke Fitzmaurice, in The Murmur of Masks is the younger son
of a baronet. Prevented by a previous illness from leaving university to join
the Army in 1803, he will not be deterred from joining Wellington in Brussels
in May 1815. He is a debonair man about town, an excellent brother, frequents a
rough and ready fencing club in preference to Angelo’s and is interested in
political reform.

The Honourable Hugo Tamrisk M.P, hero of Perception & Illusion, is the
youngest surviving child and only son of the twenty-fifth Baron Tamm. One of
the ton’s most eligible bachelors, he
is inclined to be cool and reserved but is instantly attracted to Lallie Grey. On
first sight, she finds him ‘very
dark, with strong cheekbones and deep eye sockets set above a beak of a nose
and a determined chin, above which his lips were fixed in a straight line’ but
he soon reveals a ‘surprisingly attractive smile’.

Ans:Olivia Frobisher in The
Murmur of Masks is the daughter and sister of naval officers. She is a
competent and capable woman, used to sizing up a situation and making the best
of it, but her aloof façade conceals a longing for love.

Lallie Grey, in Perception
& Illusion, is governess to her younger half-sisters. She is
warm-hearted, impulsive and full of life. Hugo admires her ‘slanted green eyes and provocative combination
of a little turned-up nose perched above a plump upper lip’ but also finds her
very easy to talk to.

(4) Are there
secondary lead characters with important roles?

Ans: Yes. In The
Murmur of Masks, Luke’s friend Lord Franklin plays a very important part,
as does Olivia’s friend the Duchess of Gracechurch. Perception & Illusion is more of an ensemble piece, with
Lallie’s and Hugo’s families to the fore.

(5) Where is the
novel (s) set? – time-frame – country etc.

Ans: Both are set in England, but with some of the action in
Brussels and surrounding areas. Book One of The
Murmur of Masks is set in 1803, Book Two in 1814 and Book Three in 1815. Perception & Illusion runs from mid-1813
to early 1815. There is a slight overlapping of characters between the two
books as much of the action occurs within the same social set.

(6) What is it about your chosen era/periods that you most
enjoy?

Ans: I love regency fashion. It reflects the
light-heartedness of the period. But I am also fascinated by the darker side of
a world on the cusp of modernity.

(7) Which if any of
your characters do you dislike, and why?

Ans: Robert Grey, Lallie’s father, who only has an eye for
the main chance, and his crony Frederick Malvin who leaps at the chance to
marry Lallie.A thoroughly nasty pair.

(8) Do you avoid sex
scenes, gross violence or other in your works?

Ans: I don’t avoid sex scenes but do not include them
gratuitously. They must be part of the plot and feel right for the characters
in their time. I avoid gross violence.

Ans: I describe my novels as ‘historical fiction for the
heart and for the head’.

Back cover blurb, and point of sale links.

Back Cover Blurbs;

The Murmur of Masks

1803/04 England is at war with France. Olivia
Frobisher, daughter of a naval officer who is somewhere at sea, loses her home
when her mother dies suddenly. Adrift and vulnerable, she accepts the proposal
of Jack Rembleton, a natural
scientist, hoping that love will grow between them. She is unaware that Jack,
fearing exposure of his innermost secret, has yielded to pressure from his
elder brother to marry and sire an heir to his title. Luke
Fitzmaurice,devastatedat being declared unfit for military service, suffers
another disappointment when he learns that Olivia is already married. Olivia
too is shaken and realises that in accepting Jack’s offer she has cut herself
off from the world of youth and the promise of love.

Ten years,
later, Jack spends most of his time at his experimental farm, visiting Olivia
and their three children occasionally. With Napoleon defeated, he leaves to
travel abroad indefinitely. Luke has become more radical in his outlook and
under the pseudonym Otanes casts a critical eye on society. He is still drawn
to Olivia but must accept they can have no future. A sudden turn of events
changes everything but Napoleon escapes from Elba. Although offered a seat in
parliament, Luke purchases a commission in the 1st/52nd
and joins Wellington’s army in Brussels. Once Napoleon is defeated, Luke must
fight the battle for Olivia’s heart.

“Catherine Kullmann's debut novel offers lovers
of historical fiction an authentic portrait of the passion and turbulence of
the extended Regency period. It is a story of love and war; an eternal triangle
with a difference.”

The Murmur of Masks is available as e-book
and paperback worldwide from Amazon

Perception &
Illusion

Cast out by
her father for refusing the suitor of his choice, Lallie Grey accepts Hugo
Tamrisk’s proposal, confident that he loves her as she loves him. But Hugo’s
past throws long shadows as does his recent liaison with Sabina Albright. All
too soon, Lallie must question Hugo’s reasons for marriage and wonder what he
really wants of his bride.

Perception & Illusion charts Lallie’s and Hugo’s voyage
through a sea of confusion and misunderstanding. Can they successfully
negotiate the Rocks of Jealousy and the Shoals of Perplexity to arrive at the Bay
of Delight or will they drift inexorably towards Cat & Dog Harbour or the
Dead Lake of Indifference? Catherine
Kullmann's skillful evocation of the Regency period rings true, as do her
protagonists’ predicaments. It is a joy to step into this other world with her.

What they say about Catherine Kullmann’s
writing

‘Fans of historical fiction will be delighted
with a well-wrought story and a wealth of authentic detail.’

‘A page-turning plot of romance and intrigue
with well-developed characters set in an extremely well-researched and detailed
Regency period.’

‘The characters are particularly well drawn,
and the English Regency setting is just perfect.’

‘You really get a feel for the Regency era and
the conflicts and difficulties people faced.’

Perception
& Illusion is available as e-book and paperback worldwide
from Amazon